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BBC News
05-06-2025
- General
- BBC News
Held at gunpoint: BBC team detained by Israeli forces in southern Syria
On the morning of 9 May, I was part of a BBC Arabic team which left the Syrian capital, Damascus, for the southern province of Deraa. From there we planned to go to the frontier with the Israeli-occupied Golan wanted to get close to the Syrian territory that has been seized by the Israeli military since December, when Israel's prime minister said it was taking control indefinitely of a demilitarised buffer zone and neighbouring areas following the fall of Bashar al-Assad's were a team of seven - myself (a British citizen), two Iraqi BBC staff, and four Syrians - three freelancers and one BBC cameraman. We were filming near one of the UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) observation posts, close to the town of al-Rafeed, when an official from the UN told us that the Israeli side had inquired about our identity and had been informed that we were a BBC next drove north towards Quneitra city, which has been located inside the buffer zone since a 1974 disengagement agreement between Syria and Israel, which captured the Golan during the 1967 Middle East 200m (660ft) away from the city, an unguarded checkpoint blocked the road. To the side of the checkpoint we spotted Merkava tanks, one of which was flying an Israeli a nearby tower, two Israeli soldiers were watching us - one of them through binoculars - and my colleague held his BBC ID up for them to BBC has complained to the Israeli military about what happened next to my team, but it has not yet received a response. A minute after we started filming in the area, a white car approached from the other side of the Israeli soldiers got out of the car and surrounded us. They pointed their rifles at our heads and ordered us to place the camera on the side of the road. I tried to explain that we were a BBC crew, but things escalated unexpectedly quickly.I was able to send a message to my BBC colleagues in London saying that we had been stopped by the Israeli military before our phones and all equipment were confiscated, more Israeli soldiers arrived in a Humvee military vehicle, and our car was thoroughly soldiers escorted us through a barrier into the city of Quneitra and stopped at the crossing point that separates Quneitra from the occupied Golan. There, the soldiers began reviewing the footage as we sat in our car, while one pointed his rifle at my head from metres away. After more than two hours, one of the soldiers asked me to step out of the car and speak on a mobile phone.I didn't know who the person on the line was. He spoke broken Arabic. He asked why we were filming Israeli military positions. I told him I was a British BBC journalist and explained to him the nature of our work. I returned to my car, and the rifle was again aimed at my another hour of waiting, one more vehicle arrived. A group of security personnel got out of the car carrying blindfolds and plastic zip ties and asked me to step out lead officer, who spoke fluent Palestinian Arabic dialect, took me by the hand towards one of the rooms at the crossing point which were previously used by the Syrian army. The floor was strewn with broken glass and rubbish. He told me that they would treat me differently - no handcuffs, nor blindfold - unlike the rest of my team.I was in shock. I asked why they were doing this when they knew we were a BBC said he wanted to help get us out quickly and that we had to comply with their instructions. Moments later, another officer entered and told me to take off all my clothes except my underwear. I initially refused, but they insisted, and threatened me, so I complied. He inspected even inside my underwear, both front and back, searched my clothes, then told me to put them back on and started interrogating me - including personal questions about my children and their they eventually let me out of the room, I witnessed the horrific scene of my team members, tied up and blindfolded. I pleaded to the officer to release them, and he promised to do so after the interrogations. They were taken one by one to the same room for strip search and returned with their hands still bound but not blindfolded. The team's interrogation lasted more than two hours, during which all our phones and laptops were examined, and many photos - including personal ones - were officer threatened us with worse consequences if we approached the frontier from the Syrian side again, and said that they know everything about us and would track us down if any hidden or un-deleted photo was ever seven hours after our detention - it was past 21:00 - we were taken by two vehicles, one in front of our car and the other behind us, to a rural area about 2km (1.2 miles) outside Quneitra. There, the vehicles stopped and a bag containing our phones was thrown towards us before the vehicles in the dark with no signal, no internet and no idea where we were, we kept driving until we reached a small village.A group of children pointed us to the highway, warning that a wrong turn could draw Israeli fire. Ten tense minutes later, we found the road. Forty-five minutes after that, we were in Damascus.
The National
04-06-2025
- Politics
- The National
Hezbollah splinter group in Syria risks confrontation with Israel after rare rocket attack
A small group in southern Syria that once formed part of a Hezbollah network is suspected of carrying out an overnight rocket attack on an Israeli-occupied area in the Golan Heights, sources said on Wednesday as Syrian authorities denied Israeli claims that Damascus was responsible. The two rockets hit an open area and caused no casualties, according to the Israeli military, which responded with air raids on several Syrian military sites. The US envoy to Syria, Thomas Barack, visited the Golan Heights on Wednesday, indicating the seriousness of the incident. It was the first such attack on Israel from Syria since rebels led by the Hayat Tahrir Al Sham group toppled former president Bashar Al Assad in December. New President Ahmad Al Shara has sought to consolidate control of the country in the face of sectarian violence, and now faces the fresh challenge of handling Israel's response. A previously unknown group calling itself the Martyr Mohammed Deif Brigades claimed responsibility. Mr Deif was the military chief of Hamas who was killed by Israel last year in its war to eliminate the Palestinian militant group from Gaza. Two sources in Jordan, which borders the Golan Heights, said the attack appeared to be the work of a local group with 12 members comprising Palestinian refugees and Syrians from the district of Nawa in Deraa governorate. The rockets were fired from the Sahm Al Golan area, south of Nawa, they said. It is one of many of small groups that Hezbollah and Iran set up in southern Syria around 2018, three years after Russia's intervention in the Syrian civil war caused significant defeats for rebels fighting the former regime. Tehran and Moscow were the main backers of Mr Al Assad's 24-year rule. "These groups were designed to be small, nimble and hard to detect," one of the sources said, adding that many of them had kept open lines of communications with Hezbollah and Hamas. "The Israelis have reacted strongly because they don't want the south to become a launch pad against them again," the source said. In the final year of the Assad regime, Israeli troops faced increasing rocket and drone attacks that Israel blamed on Iran and its militia allies. Israel does not trust the HTS-led government that replaced Mr Al Assad and is upset about the support it has received from countries in the region and the West, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the US and the EU. HTS, a group formerly linked with Al Qaeda, was allied with Turkey when it launched the offensive that ended five decades of Assad family rule on December 8. "We will not allow a return to the reality of October 7," said Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz, referring to the surprise Hamas attack on Israel that started the present war in GAz Israel responded to the regime change by sending its troops into Syrian territory across the UN buffer zone in the Golan Heights, south-west of Damascus, and bombing military and militia installations across Syria, particularly in southern areas. This has vastly curbed the ability of the new Syrian government to deploy troops and military hardware in the south as it seeks to establish control over the entire country. Israel's attacks on Syria have subsided in recent weeks, with reports emerging that the two sides had engaged in talks. On Wednesday, the Syrian Foreign Ministry said Syria does not "pose a threat to anyone in the region" and that "peaceful solutions" are needed across the region. "The utmost priority in Syria's south is to spread the authority of the state and end the presence of non-state arms," a ministry statement said.
The National
04-06-2025
- General
- The National
Israel-Syria tensions spike after rocket attack in Golan Heights
A small group in southern Syria that once formed part of a Hezbollah network is suspected of carrying out an overnight rocket attack on an Israeli-controlled area in the Golan Heights, sources said on Wednesday as Syrian authorities denied Israeli claims that Damascus was responsible. The two rockets hit an open area and caused no casualties, according to the Israeli military, which responded with air raids on several Syrian military sites. The US envoy to Syria, Thomas Barack, visited the Golan Heights on Wednesday, indicating the seriousness of the incident. It was the first such attack on Israel from Syria since rebels led by the Hayat Tahrir Al Sham group toppled former president Bashar Al Assad in December. New President Ahmad Al Shara has sought to consolidate control of the country in the face of sectarian violence and now faces the fresh challenge of Israel's response. A previously unknown group calling itself the Martyr Mohammed Deif Brigades claimed responsibility. Mr Deif was the military chief of Hamas who was killed by Israel last year in its war to eliminate the Palestinian militant group from Gaza. Two sources in Jordan, which borders the Golan Heights, said the attack appeared to be the work of a local group with 12 members comprising Palestinian refugees and Syrians from the district of Nawa in Deraa governorate. The rockets were fired from the Sahm Al Golan area, south of Nawa, they said. It is one of many of small groups that Hezbollah and Iran set up in southern Syria around 2018, three years after Russia's intervention in the Syrian civil war caused significant defeats for rebels fighting the former regime. Tehran and Moscow were the main backers of Mr Al Assad's 24-year rule. "These groups were designed to be small, nimble and hard to detect," one of the sources said, adding that many of them had kept open lines of communications with Hezbollah and Hamas. "The Israelis have reacted strongly because they don't want the south to become a launch pad against them again," the source said. In the final year of the Assad regime, Israeli troops faced increasing rocket and drone attacks that Israel blamed on Iran and its militia allies. Israel does not trust the HTS-led government that replaced Mr Al Assad and is upset about the support it has received from countries in the region and the West, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the US and the EU. HTS, a group formerly linked with Al Qaeda, was allied with Turkey when it launched the offensive that ended five decades of Assad family rule on December 8. Israel responded to the regime change by sending its troops into Syrian territory across the UN buffer zone in the Golan Heights, south-west of Damascus, and bombing military and militia installations across Syria, particularly in southern areas. This has vastly curbed the ability of the new Syrian government to deploy troops and military hardware in the south as it seeks to establish control over the entire country. Israel's attacks on Syria have subsided in recent weeks, with reports emerging that the two sides had engaged in talks. On Wednesday, the Syrian Foreign Ministry said Syria does not "pose a threat to anyone in the region" and that "peaceful solutions" are needed across the region. "The utmost priority in Syria's south is to spread the authority of the state and end the presence of non-state arms," a ministry statement said.
Al Jazeera
03-06-2025
- General
- Al Jazeera
Syria says Israeli attack on Deraa causes ‘significant' losses
Syria's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has condemned an Israeli strike on the Syrian province of Deraa, saying that it caused 'significant human and material losses', the state news agency SANA reports. The strike came after the Israeli military said that two projectiles had crossed from Syria towards Israel on Tuesday, and fell in open areas, though the Syrian Foreign Ministry said these were 'reports that have not been verified yet'. The ministry reiterated that Syria has not and would not pose a threat to any party in the region. It was not immediately clear who was responsible for the projectiles. 'We believe that there are many parties that may seek to destabilise the region to achieve their own interests,' the ministry added. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said he held Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa responsible for the projectiles. 'We consider the president of Syria directly responsible for any threat and fire towards the State of Israel, and a full response will come soon,' Katz said. Syria and Israel have recently engaged in indirect talks to ease tensions, a significant development in relations between states that have been on opposite sides of the conflict in the Middle East for decades. Several Arab and Palestinian media outlets circulated a claim of responsibility from a little-known group named the Muhammad Deif Brigades, an apparent reference to Hamas's military leader who was killed in an Israeli strike in 2024. The statement from the group could not be independently verified. The Israeli army said it attacked southern Syria with artillery fire after the projectiles launched at Israel. Residents said that Israeli mortars were striking the Wadi Yarmouk area, west of Deraa province, near the border with the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. The area has witnessed increased tensions in recent weeks, including reported Israeli military incursions into nearby villages, where residents have reportedly been barred from sowing their crops. Israel has waged a campaign of aerial bombardment that has destroyed much of Syria's military infrastructure. It has occupied the Syrian Golan Heights since the 1967 Arab-Israeli war and taken more territory in the aftermath of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's removal in December, citing lingering concerns over the past of the country's new government. Around the same time that Israel reported the projectiles from Syria, the Israeli military said it intercepted a missile from Yemen. Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis said they targeted Israel's Jaffa with a ballistic missile. The group has been launching attacks against Israel in what they say is in support of Palestinians during the Israeli war in Gaza.
The National
18-05-2025
- Politics
- The National
Syria's remaining armed rebel groups given 10 days to join state forces
Armed groups in Syria who have not joined state ranks have been given 10 days to do so by Defence Minister Marhaf Abu Qasra or face 'appropriate measures', as the government pushes for unity. Mr Abu Qasra said on Saturday that all the major armed factions had been integrated into the Defence Ministry, but he urged remaining smaller groups to fall in line. 'We stress the necessity for the remaining small military groups to join the ministry within a maximum period of 10 days from the date of this announcement, in order to complete the unification and organisation efforts,' said a statement carried by state news agency Sana. 'Any delay in this regard will require appropriate measures in accordance with the laws in force.' The statement did not identify which groups had still not submitted to state authority or say what action would be taken against those failing to do so. 'We extend our sincere thanks and appreciation to the commanders and soldiers of the military units for their fruitful co-operation and high commitment,' it said. Syria's new government under President Ahmad Al Shara is attempting to integrate the armed groups following 13 years of civil war and fragmentation during the rule of former president Bashar Al Assad, who was toppled by rebels led by Mr Al Shara last year. Factions that agreed to dissolve have been integrated into the defence ministry, while the government has launched a recruitment drive for a new army and security forces. Armed groups from Deraa in the south, as well as Turkey-backed factions in the north and Islamist groups, are among those to have joined the ministry. In March, the new government struck a deal with Kurdish-led forces in the north-east to integrate their civil and military institutions into the central authorities. The agreement with the Syrian Democratic Forces is yet to be implemented. Many of the armed groups have kept their weapons and remain deployed in areas they previously controlled. Hayat Tahrir Al Sham, the rebel umbrella group formerly led by Mr Al Shara in ousting Mr Al Assad, remains the dominant armed force, along Islamist groups aligned with it, especially in their original stronghold of Idlib in the north-west and in Damascus. Previously known as Al Nusra Front, it maintained links with Al Qaeda until 2016. Several western states still label Hayat Tahrir as a terrorist organisation. Mr Al Shara is seeking national unity while also attempting to ensure protection for minorities, which has been a key demand from foreign powers alongside their pledges to support Syria's postwar recovery. The Syrian economy is in tatters and in need of international funding for reconstruction. Last week, US President Donald Trump said he would be lifting sanctions that were imposed on Syria during the Assad era, in a major boost for Mr Al Shara. The announcement followed a meeting between the two men during a tour of the Gulf by Mr Trump.
